Poly(arylene ether) resin is a type of plastic known for its excellent water resistance, dimensional stability, and inherent flame retardancy. Properties such as strength, stiffness, chemical resistance, and heat resistance can be tailored by blending it with various other plastics in order to meet the requirements of a wide variety of consumer products, for example, plumbing fixtures, electrical boxes, automotive parts, and insulation for wire and cable.
For applications requiring high heat resistance, it has been difficult to injection mold large plastic parts, such as washing machine tops. This is because known heat-resistant poly(arylene ether) blends have relatively high viscosities at the temperatures used for injection molding. The molding difficulties are manifested as defects including delamination of the molded parts, and blistering of molded parts after painting. Such defects result in waste and inefficiency. Attempts to reduce the viscosity of the poly(arylene ether) blend by increasing the melt temperature used for injection molding have been unsuccessful because the higher melt temperature induces thermal decomposition of the resin blend. Increasing the injection speed also fails to solve the problem because the increased injection speed often leads to melt fracture and blisters in the surface of the molded parts. There is therefore a need for heat-resistant poly(arylene ether) blends exhibiting improved melt flow while substantially maintaining ductility and heat resistance.